TIMMINS - A group from out west is in town pitching its new mining royalties approach to Indigenous communities.
Nations Royalty is a company founded by the Nisga’a Nation on the Canadian West Coast to diversify the money they get from mining agreements on their land. Now, they’re working with other Indigenous communities to expand that idea.
“If you’re able to lower the risk for Indigenous groups, I think that’s a huge benefit,” said Penner. “If I can help Indigenous people across Canada and the world potential, that’s just a good thing to do.”
“The whole point is to work together, share our resources, lower the risk, and create value for all of us,” said Kody Penner, vice-president of corporate development. “We all want to increase our wealth, provide stability for our families, for our kids, for seven generations.”
The Nations Royalty team is in town talking to local communities, but would not share who they are in talks with.
“It’s like a mutual fund for royalties,” Penner said. “Essentially, it creates double the value that any of these royalties could be worth on their own.”
If a community has one mine, its value could drop if, for example, a mining accident occurs, said Penner. Partnering with Nations Royalty gives the community a buffer in case of trouble because they also own shares in the other member communities’ assets.
“When you look at the critical mineral space or gold space or any of these things, with your local Indigenous group sitting on a bunch of money before the project starts, they can get prepared in economical development, in wildlife preservation, all these things because they have the capital upfront,” he said. “I think it could change the landscape.”
Penner said the goal is to support the communities and get them the best deal. This can include helping negotiate the types of payments they receive from the mines and even providing financial education.
“Building those relationships takes time,” he said. “We offer free advice to Indigenous groups across Canada, and internationally if need be, on how to structure and what to ask for.”
Penner said that part of their goal is to visit the communities they work with and have conversations with members or committees in whatever way works for the community.
“We are completely open, and we’re able to support any engagement,” he said. “We have one coming up, and we’re going to spend two days in community, sitting around. We’ll just be there. So any form of community engagement that makes sense, we’re completely open to that.”
The company has been publicly traded since June 2024, and Penner said the additional investors help bolster the Indigenous investments.
“As we pool more together and allow outside investors from all over the world, they’re going to invest in it, and that pushes the price up,” he said.